Haryana-Rajasthan bus fine spat escalates over ticket dispute

The incident began in Bharatpur when a Haryana policewoman refused to pay a ₹50 fare on a Rajasthan Roadways bus on her way to Daruheda, sparking a standoff. After a video went viral, Haryana traffic police allegedly began issuing fines to Rajasthan buses travelling through Haryana.

A conflict between Haryana and Rajasthan has escalated as more than 70 Haryana Roadways buses were fined or impounded in Rajasthan, especially in Jaipur and Alwar, over a dispute sparked by a Haryana constable’s refusal to pay her bus fare. Haryana officials claim Rajasthan traffic police are now targeting their buses. 

In the past three days, 78 Haryana state roadway buses have been fined while eight have been seized. (HT Archive)

The incident began in Bharatpur when a Haryana policewoman refused to pay a ₹50 fare on a Rajasthan Roadways bus on her way to Daruheda, sparking a standoff. After a video of the incident went viral, Haryana traffic police allegedly began issuing fines to Rajasthan buses travelling through Haryana, leading Rajasthan to impose similar penalties on Haryana buses. 

According to Manoj Kumar Bansal, general manager (traffic) at Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation (RSRTC), in the past three days, 78 Haryana state roadway buses have been fined while eight have been seized. On the other hand, the Haryana Road Transport Corporation has fined 100 Rajasthan state roadway buses, said officials. To be sure, around 100 buses of Haryana state roadways ply several districts in Rajasthan, while around 300 buses of Rajasthan roadways travel through Haryana and onto Delhi. 

In response, Gurugram deputy commissioner of police (traffic), Virender Vij, said that there has been no targeted crackdown against Rajasthan roadway buses. “Several media platforms reported that Haryana police also targeted buses of the Rajasthan roadways as revenge, which is incorrect,” he said. “I want to clarify that we issued at least 3,600 challans for lane-driving violations this month till now, of which a mere 11 buses were of Rajasthan roadways,” he added. 

Vij said that 150 of these challans were of Haryana roadway buses, 41 buses were of Delhi-based buses, and 55 belonged to private schools. “More than 100 buses were of other state roadways,, which clearly defines that there has been no vindictive action against Rajasthan roadways,” he added. 

RSRTC chairperson Subhra Singh said the issue was unfortunate, and the Rajasthan government is in touch with the Haryana transport department to resolve the issue. 

According to Haryana Roadways general manager (Gurugram bus depot), Pardeep Sharma, most of the affected buses are Gurugram, Nuh, Rewari, Narnaul, Palwal, Bhiwani, Rohtak, Jhajjar, and Charkhi Dadri depots. Sharma said that buses from various Haryana depots, including Nuh, Rohtak, and Jhajjar, faced fines ranging from ₹200 to ₹6,000 for alleged minor infractions. “We alerted headquarters in Chandigarh, and senior officials are in touch with counterparts in Rajasthan to resolve it,” said Sharma, claiming fines were imposed on “flimsy grounds.” 

Meanwhile, Nav Rattan Sharma, chief inspector at Charkhi Dadri, confirmed multiple fines on Haryana buses for minor issues, including bus registration plates’ placements. 

“Rajasthan police imposed fines on one of our buses at two locations within a few kilometres yesterday. One driver was penalised merely because the front registration plate of the bus was fixed at a corner and not on in the middle of the fender,” he added. 

Similarly, Om Prakash Yadav, chief inspector of Rewari depot, said two buses from his depot were impounded by police in Jaipur on Sunday. “At least 10 other buses from our depot were penalised for various kinds of violations,” he said.